Inflatable cushion for turning a bed into a sofa

ABSTRACT

An inflatable cushion is disclosed for turning a bed into a sofa. The cushion includes a reversible pump capable of moving a large volume of air for quick inflation/deflation and can be attached to the bed on which it rests or the wall supporting the cushion back. A fabric cover enhances the function and appearance of the cushion.

The present invention relates to an inflatable/deflatable cushion for quickly and conveniently providing a backrest and armrests to a conventional bed and claims benefit of provisional application 61/202,704, filed Mar. 30, 2009.

BACKGROUND

Dormitory rooms and small apartments have minimal living space. Especially in dorm rooms, there is often no space for a comfortable chair and never room for a sofa. Convertible sofas are well known in the art. They are heavy and expensive. Due to their construction, the beds are often uncomfortable, especially for larger people and when more than one person occupies the bed. When folded out, the beds require too much of the available room space. Worman 2007/0006384 is an unusual example having an inflatable inner cushion with an air pump capable of forming a bed. See FIG. 4. 12-2 is the inflatable cushion stowed as shown in FIG. 2A. Once again, however, the bed folds out to take too much space in a small room.

Inflatable pillows providing a backrest with arms are known. Ince et al. Des. 390,298 is an example. A sofa bed with removable foam block back and end pillows is shown in Powell 3,740,774. Inflatable sofas are shown in McCarthy et al. 2005/0099054, Kojic et al. 6,042,186, and Wu 7,331,074.

Maddox 3,319,269 discloses a bed bolster stowable next to the bed to move the bolster from the bed surface for sleeping. When the bolster is in place on the bed, the bed functions as a sofa.

Lane 2003/0204909 discloses an air bag attached to the bed and stowed in deflated condition until the bed occupant tries to get out of the bed, at which time the air bag inflates to keep the occupant in the bed.

Nail 2,987,735 shows an inflatable back and arm arrangement for a chair in FIG. 5 having a fabric cover with internal stiffeners to allow the arrangement to keep its chair-like shape.

It is also well known to build a pump into the wall of an inflatable object as shown in Chaffee 7,039,972 and as discussed in Yen 6,955,527.

There remains a need for a cushion that easily and quickly converts a bed into a sofa without requiring additional space in a small room and that is easily stowable when not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the inflatable cushion of the invention comprises a back support and armrests with a built-in reversible pump. The cushion can be attached to the bed frame or to the wall adjacent the bed to maintain its position as it is inflated and to keep it in position out of the way for sleeping when it is deflated and stowed. In the stowed position, the cushion can be inflated without being handled or re-positioned by the user. The built-in reversible pump moves a large volume of air to quickly inflate the cushion when a sofa is desired and to quickly deflate when using the bed.

The preferred embodiment includes a fabric cover, easily removed for washing or for changing to another cover. The heavy duty plastic material of the cushion is not particularly comfortable for contact with human skin nor is it visually attractive. A cover can be manufactured of any suitable material and can be decorated with logos, school emblems, or any design of choice. An opening in the bottom of the cover allows entry of the deflated cushion and easy removal when desired. Either the cushion itself or the fabric cover has means for attaching the arrangement to a bed frame or to a wall adjacent the bed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the cushion inflated.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the inflated cushion.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inflated cushion in position on a supporting bed.

FIG. 4 is an end view showing the relationship of the bed and cushion in both inflated and deflated condition to a wall adjacent the bed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows inflatable cushion 1 having a back support 2 and arms 3. The back support 2 has end panels 22 at each end. The arms 3 are attached to the back support 2 adjacent the end panels 22. A reversible pump 4 is welding into the plastic cushion 2 in one of the end panels 22 but can be mounted at any suitable location on the cushion. An actuation switch 5 or a wired/wireless remote 15 with switches 16 can operate pump 4 to inflate or deflate the cushion 2. A high grade PVC, fir example, phthalate Free 6P can be used to form the cushion and its arms. Interior baffles can be part of the back cushion 2 to give the back structurally rigidity when inflated to keep the back 2 from ballooning out of shape. Such baffles are common in inflatable products. Any suitable pump may be employed. Speedy inflation/deflation adds to the utility of the device so a pump that moves a high volume of air is preferred.

FIG. 2 includes a Velcro strip 12 longitudinally along the back surface of cushion 2 to allow the device to be attached to wall 13 (FIG. 5) adjacent bed frame 16 and mattress 9. Tie strings 11 can also be used to tie the cushion to a bed frame at any convenient spot.

FIG. 3 includes a fabric cover 6 covering cushion 1, including a back portion 8 and arms 7. In FIG. 3, the cushion of the invention rests on mattress 9 and can be attached to the wall behind it or to the bed frame using Velcro strip 12 or tie strings 11 of FIGS. 2 and 5. The attaching means 11 or 12 can be attached to the cushion directly when the cushion is used without a cover 8 or attached to the cover. It is envisioned that cover 8 can be of any material and be decorated with logos, words, or designs of choice, including high school, college or university logos, mascots, etc. The cover will have an opening (not shown) to allow easy assembly or removal of the cover.

The cover 8 includes a pump cover 20 designed to hide pump 4 if desired and protect bed frame from being damaged by the pump due to movement of the cushion in use or when deflated for storage.

As shown in FIG. 4, any bed placed against a wall can have some room between mattress 9 and wall 13. Shaded region 10 is the deflated cushion positioned for storage when the bed is used for sleeping or any other activity known to take place on a horizontal planar surface. Once that activity ends, pump 4 can be activated to inflate the cushion as shown in FIG. 5. The reversible pump can quickly deflate the cushion for storage should the need for further horizontal activity arise.

Inflatable cushion 1 is a solution to the problem of minimal living space in small living quarters like college dorm rooms or efficiency apartments. Using a built-in, high-velocity air pump, the cushion is able to inflate into a structure transforming a bed into a comfortable couch in 30 seconds. Equally important is the use of a reversible pump to deflate the bed to make a sleeping space quickly. The cushion runs the length of a bed to provide seating for 3 adults with the comfort of the bed as the seating area. 

1. An inflatable cushion comprising: an elongated back support for supporting the back of a seated user, said back support including end panels, armrest cushions integral with the back support and located near said end panels extending perpendicularly from said back support to form a sofa arrangement when said inflated cushion is placed on a horizontal surface adjacent a vertical wall, and an inflation/deflation pump associated with one of said end panels, said inflation/deflation pump capable of quickly inflating/deflating said cushion by moving a high volume of air quickly.
 2. The cushion of claim 1, wherein said horizontal surface is a bed and further having attaching means on said cushion for attaching said cushion to either said bed or said wall to maintain the cushion's position with respect to said bed.
 3. The cushion of claim 1 further having a fabric cover, said cover having an opening to allow said cushion to be placed inside said cover to fit the cushion in its inflated state and remaining with said cushion when deflated.
 4. The fabric cover of claim 3 further including at least one visible logo.
 5. The fabric cover of claim 3 further including a pocket associated with the portion of the cover overlying said armrests.
 6. The fabric cover of claim 3 including an opening adjacent said pump such that the pump remains uncovered when said cover is in place.
 7. The fabric cover of claim 6 wherein said opening has a movable fabric cover for covering said opening when said pump is not in use. 